She added: “There are no doubt valid arguments for such an extension. But Congress has seen fit to proceed in more modest steps in the Act, and it is not the province of this branch to do otherwise.”

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of Azzam Rahim, a Palestinian man with U.S. citizenship who was was allegedly tortured and killed by Palestinian officials some time after his arrest in 1995. The Palestinian Authority has denied the charge.

The family’s lawsuit has been batted around in the appeals process for so long because it does not mention a specific individual’s name, instead targeting the Palestinian Liberation Organization in general. Added: The law does not specifically define “individual,” but it uses the word 13 times — a tripping point that led Justices to cite legal terminology in their ruling.

Ultimately, “We decline to read ‘individual’ so unnaturally,” Sotomayor wrote. “The ordinary meaning of the word, fortified by its statutory context, persuades us that the Act authorizes suit against natural persons alone.”

About the Author

Stephen C. Webster is the senior editor of Raw Story, and is based out of Austin, Texas. He previously worked as the associate editor of The Lone Star Iconoclast in Crawford, Texas, where he covered state politics and the peace movement’s resurgence at the start of the Iraq war. Webster has also contributed to publications such as True/Slant, Austin Monthly, The Dallas Business Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Weekly, The News Connection and others. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenCWebster.